Ancient Indian Boardgames: Digital Documentation

Title (dcterms:title)

Mancala Finished and Unfinished, Pataleshwar (1,2)

Description (dcterms:description)

The game of Mancala is considered to be one of the oldest games of the world, while its place of origin and the timeline is debatable. The earliest textual reference as stated by scholars comes from Kitab al-Aghani, or Book of Songs which does not directly mention mancala but refers to a similar game. These rows of cupules have been excavated in ancient sites like Jordan and many others including megalithic sites in India but their link as to being Mancala is debatable. This game has many variants all across the world and is popular in Africa, Asia, and parts of Eastern Europe. In India, Mancala is known by many names and the rules and variants of the game keep changing based on its region and according to the communities who play them. The number of holes in mancala differ along with the number of rows as well. In some variants the board is hand-drawn on a surface as circles with chalk or even cut holes on the soil to play the game. It is played with local seeds, stones or anything which is easily available as pieces to place inside the pits. The number of pieces per pit also vary from four to even twelve in some variants. This game is popularly a two-player game but some variants also show three players or even one in some case.
This particular image depicts a finished six row Mancala just beside the Nandi(bull) at the temple complex of Pataleshwar, and a probable unfinished one beside it.
The unfinished board may suggest that not all etched boards were measured or carved perfectly in order to be played. It could also suggest that there was a learning curve in etchings games on the floor and it could have been a failed attempt. Another idea could suggest that the other etched board has been destroyed through time or lack of preservation as many other sites were documented where boards were seen as unfinished or had cracks on them. Pataleshwar cave complex are a small group of five excavations, developed into a cave temple dedicated to Pataleshwar, God of the underworld or Shiva. This cave complex is ruggedly excavated and also bears resemblance with the Elephanta caves of Mumbai. The cave has unfinished murals on the sides and on the backside. There is a Nandi pavilion at the entrance of the cave which is circular. The inside of the main cave contains a pillared hall with a pradakshinapatha the way to go around the shrine. One side of the cave remains unfinished. This and other boardgames were documented on the floor of the cave.

Alternative Title (dcterms:alternative)

Mow korkatia / Longbeuacha (Assamese ), Sat-gol (Hindi), Ali Guli Mane (Kannada), Vai Lung Thlan (Mizo), Kanji guti (Odia), Khutka boia (Punjabi ), Pallanguzhi/ Pallankuli (Tamil), Vamana Guntalu (Telugu), Chenna Maaney (Tulu), Pachgarhwa (Urdu), Til-goti, Chal goti (Mundari), Sat Gharoa (Bihar), Bakri (Chattisgarh)

Rules (dcterms:instructionalMethod)

How to play Mancala
Goal: The object of the game is to capture the most Stones/Seeds in your Mancala or on your side. It starts with equal number of stones or seeds on each hole or houses (5 or 6) The game ends when one player has no remaining Stones in any of their Houses.
How Players Move: The active player picks up all the stones or seeds in any of their Houses or Holes.
Moving counter-clockwise around the board, they place one stone in each of the next Houses, including their own Mancala.
Game Play:
Extra turns: When the active player places their last Stone in their own Mancala, that player immediately gets another turn.
Capturing Stones: If the active player places their last Stone in one of their own empty Houses, they get all the Stones from the opponent’s House directly across from the House where the active player placed the Stone. All captured Stones are placed in the active player’s Mancala.
Changing turns: When the active player places their last Stone in one of their opponents empty Houses or places their last Stone in any House that already contains Stones, the active player’s turn ends and it is now their opponent’s turn to be the active player. Players take turns until, after taking a move, all of either player’s Houses are empty. Any remaining Stones in a player’s
Houses go into their Mancala. When this happens, the game ends and the players count their Stones. The player with the most Stones or Seeds in their Mancala is the winner.

Mancala Rules

Contributor (dcterms:contributor)

Souvik Mukherjee and Adrija Mukherjee

Rights (dcterms:rights)

Creative Commons

Format (dcterms:format)

Graffiti Boardgame

Medium (dcterms:medium)

Graffiti Board etched on rock

References (dcterms:references)

Mancala- Digital Ludemi Project

Mancala wiki

Pallanguzhi- Map Academy

Temporal Coverage (dcterms:temporal)

The Pataleshwar caves were built during the Rashtrakuta dynasty at 8th century CE.

Spatial Coverage (dcterms:spatial)

Pataleshwar Cave, Jangli Maharaj Road, Pune

Variants (dcterms:isVersionOf)

Cenne Mane

Khutki Boia

Sat Gol Game

Gud Phale

Pachgharwa (five spaces/homes)

Düzalé

Kasadi

Interview with Professor Priya Sangameswaran (CSSSC): On Playing Pallanguzhi/Pallangudi in Palakkad

Rules of Pallankuzhi

Sat- Gharoa

Mawkar Katiya

Mancala, Pataleshwar (7)

Mancala, Pataleshawar (8)

Incomplete Mancala, Pataleshwar (6)

Baghchal, Pataleshwar (1)

Mancala, Pataleshwar (4)

Mancala, Pataleshwar (5)

Mancala, Pataleshwar (3)

Mancala Finished and Unfinished, Pataleshwar (1,2)

Unfinished Mancala, Ellora

Mancala, Karla (1)

Mancala, Bhaja Cave Complex

Entered by (dcterms:accrualMethod)

Adrija Mukherjee

Notes (foaf:status)

As the provenance of these etched boards are unknown, the exact variant and the rule of the game is difficult to trace.
While there are abundant etched evidence of mancala spread all across Maharashtra, it has been stated by scholars and board game researchers that more recent memory of the existence of this game is absent from the region. Thus, the practice of playing the game or the regional variant belonging from this region is either lost or yet to be found.

Tags (dcterms:conformsTo)

Mancala

Pataleshwar

Maharashtra

Pallanguzhi

Etched games

Stone

Unfinished

Two-player